Diet & Health

November 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1994:

Proponents of a vegetarian diet

are concerned that the public will be misled

by recent reports that 38 residents of

Limone, Italy, have a unique genetic resis-

tance to cholesterol buildup that medical

science hopes to eventually synthesize as a

treatment for clogged arteries. The treat-

ment, if and when perfected, will not be

cheap ––and as with other diseases, med-

ical authorities agree that an ounce of pre-

vention is still worth a pound of cure.

Dr. Harvey Risch of Yale

University reported in the September 21

issue of the Journal of the National Cancer

Institute that eating 10 grams of saturated

fat per day increases a woman’s risk of

ovarian cancer by 20%; eating two servings

of vegetables a day lowers the risk by an

equal factor. Ovarian cancer hits 20,000

American women per year, killing 12,500

of them.

TONY LARUSSA SAYS IT AIN’T SO

November 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 1994:

CONCORD, California––”Yes, that is actually me in the Wendy’s

commercial,” Tony LaRussa admits. “But yes, my family and I are every bit as

involved in vegetarian eating as always. I blame myself more than anyone else

for participating in a commercial that encourages eating meat!”

The commercial in question promotes Wendy’s new chicken, bacon,

and Swiss cheese sandwich. It first aired in early October, while LaRussa and

family were touring abroad, causing thousands of viewers familiar with Tony

and Elaine LaRussa’s record on vegetarianism and animal protection to wonder

if they’d been misled. In the commercial, an unidentified coach hangs up the

bullpen telephone, turns to LaRussa, and says “Marinara.”

Diet & Health

October 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 1994:

“Jack Sprat is the only per-

son in the English lexicon to promote

vegetarianism,” claim Jeff and Dana

Dorson, who recently opened the first

of a projected chain of vegan fast food

restaurants called Jack Sprat’s

Vegetarian Grill in the French Quarter

of New Orleans. “We’re going to make

Sprat into a character in costume, have

him go around in public places, pass

out vegetables, and teach people how to

eat healthy,” the Dorsons continue.

“We hope to stage a national debate

with Ronald McDonald.” The Dorsons

have shown their ability to build a

strong organization via Legislation In

Support of Animals, now six years old,

with 1,200 members (profiled in the

January 1994 issue of ANIMAL PEO-

PLE). Their menu already gets raves

from New Orleans restaurant critics.

Editorial: Table manners

September 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:

In 1987 the Iowa state legislature created the Iowa State University Bioethics

Institute, with a mandate to study the ethical issues involved in farming––and to prepare

ISU College of Agriculture graduates to meet the evolving ethical requirements of the gen-

eral public. Central to the ISUBI program is an annual week-long seminar for ISU scientific

researchers, at which all meals are vegetarian.

ISUBI has not forgotten where its funding comes from. Iowa is in fact more eco-

nomically dependent upon animal agriculture than any other state. Of the 36 million acres

of land surface in Iowa, 61% are used to grow fodder crops, while 11.4% of the private

workforce in Iowa is employed, directly or indirectly, by the cattle and hog industries.

Promoting vegetarianism is not an ISUBI objective. Yet ISUBI considers introducing farm-

ers and scientists to vegetarianism essential, because for a variety of ethical and health-

related reasons, it is an increasingly popular lifestyle that they must understand and reckon

with. Farmers and scientists who do not appreciate the reality of vegetarianism will not be

well-equipped to make important ethical and economic judgements. ISUBI therefore prac-

tices temporary immersion in vegetarianism much as foreign language seminars practice

immersion in the cultures of other nations.

Whale-meat and brain damage

September 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, September 1994:

A comparison of the pilot whale

consumption of pregnant Faroese women

with amounts of methyl mercury found in

umbilical cords and maternal hair has

discovered that those who eat whale meat

often pass mercury to their fetuses at lev-

els which may cause brain damage.

Conducted by biochemists Christine

Dalgard, Philippe Grandjean, Poul

Jergensen, and Pal Weihe, of Odense

University, Denmark, the study was

published in the June/July 1994 issue of

Environmental Health Perspectives.

Ignoring the international ban on com-

mercial whaling, Faroe Islanders kill

circa 2,000 whales a year. The Faroes are

a Danish protectorate.

THE DOG MEAT SOUP HOAX

July 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1994:

NEW YORK, N.Y.––As Joey Skaggs wrote

in his letter of confession, “On Monday, May 16, 1994,

artist and socio-political satirist Joey Skaggs mailed over

1,500 letters to dog shelters around the country announc-

ing that his company Kea So Joo, Inc. (which translates

into Dog Meat Soup, Inc., in Korean) was seeking to

purchase dogs at 10¢ per pound to be consumed by

Asians as food. The response was overwhelming. Calls

were received from people willing to sell dogs (most

likely attempts at entrapment); from people outraged at

the concept of eating dogs; from people who were out-

right hostile and racist; and from people who threatened

to kill the proprietor of this business as well as other

Asians indiscriminately. Representatives of various gov-

ernmental and animal rights organizations including the

American SPCA were pressured to do something…

American and Korean media were called to arms.”

Diet & Health

July 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1994:

A 10-month study published in the

June issue of Cancer Causes and Control, the

journal of the Harvard School of Public Health,

found that children who eat more than 12 hot dogs

a month whose fathers have a history of similar

consumption have nine times the normal risk of

leukemia. The study compared 232 leukemia

patients under age 10 with a similar group of

leukemia-free children. Wrote Dr. John Peters,

who led the University of Southern California

study team, “These findings, if correct, suggest

that reduced consumption of hot dogs could

reduce leukemia risks, especially in those con-

suming the most. Until further studies are com-

pleted and this issue becomes clearer, it may be

prudent for parents to consider reducing consump-

tion of hot dogs for themselves and their children

where consumption frequencies are high.” About

2,600 children a year get leukemia; 72% survive.

AGRICULTURE

July 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 1994:

At deadline Washington D.C. sources believed

a Justice Department probe of accusations that Agriculture

Secretary Mike Espy improperly accepted free travel, foot-

ball tickets, and other favors from the Tyson poultry empire

would end without charges being filed. However, Bob

Gottsch, a leading Nebraska cattle feeder, on June 14 sued

Espy for $22 million in damages, alleging Espy unfairly

favored poultry over beef in strengthening sanitary require-

ments for beef slaughterhouses without likewise regulating

poultry slaughterers. Ironically, Espy was editorially hit the

same week by The New York Times for purportedly favoring

beef by exempting hamburger from a requirement that meat

product labels must accurately describe fat content.

Despite recent improvements, the USDA meat

inspection system “is only marginally better today at pro-

tecting the public from harmful bacteria than it was a year

ago or even 87 years ago when it was first put in place,”

General Accounting Office food and agriculture chief John

Harmon told Congress on May 25.

COURT CALENDAR

June 1, 1994 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:

Crimes Against Humans

Odd jobs man Joseph Bales,

33, and Helene LeMay, 31, a mail-

order vegetarian diet consultant, were

charged April 19 with illegally disposing

of their 10-week-old infant’s remains in

the woods near Eastman, Quebec, a

short drive from their St. Romain home,

and then filing a false kidnapping report

in New York City to cover up for the

baby’s death. Their story fell apart within

hours. An autopsy seemed to confirm

their story that the baby died of natural

causes, as there were no evident signs of

abuse or malnutrition. They did not

report the death, they said, because they

feared they would be charged with abuse,

after having been accused last year of

abusing a mentally retarded foster child.

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